While replacing the oil pressure sender and attendant gauges on my 1982 Marine Trader 34 DC with its original 120 Lehman I pushed the "Horn Button". WOW the horn did not blow- the gauges went crazy--and a little puff of smoke came from the new VDO oil pressure gauge. OH MY MY-- now Im in trouble! Could all be ruined??? So I went outside and removed the horn. Checked the wires coming from the horn and it was a 'dead short' coming from the horn s insides. Over time the interior had corroded together and when the horn button was pushed it sent positive 12 volt electricity to all the ground wires connected to the gauges... Further investigation revealed that neither it nor the engine gauges are protected by any fuse... MY My---- well it turned out that the the gauges -old and new are ok. The horn was thrown away-the engine gauges fused. One NEVER KNOWS on these boaty's.
Dont Blow this horn!!
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jleonard
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Mine is also under the "brow" making it somewhat protected.
Moby Nick
Senior Member
I removed our dysfunctional 42 yr-old electric horn and now use a "canned air" horn. Who needs the agravation.
None of our Albin's nav lights worked, either, when we bought the boat, so I outfitted with detachable battery-powered lights for the first season of so. (we don't run at night; maybe twilight, occasionally). One by one, I have been able to get all of the original lights working, wired through a new circuit breaker board instead of fuses.
None of our Albin's nav lights worked, either, when we bought the boat, so I outfitted with detachable battery-powered lights for the first season of so. (we don't run at night; maybe twilight, occasionally). One by one, I have been able to get all of the original lights working, wired through a new circuit breaker board instead of fuses.
Comodave
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A friend had one of the canned air horns on his flybridge. It exploded and threw schrapnel through his bimini in multiple places. The mahogany drink holder that the horn was sitting in was disintegrated. The good news is that his insurance company paid for a completely new flybridge enclosure. If you have one of the canned horns, I would check them frequently for any rust. He didn’t know how old his horn was because it was on the boat when he bought it. Fortunately no one was on the boat when it exploded.
psneeld
Guru
First.... canned horns.... I have NEVER heard of one exploding...though not the first for a pressurized vessel...leaking yes, exploding with shrapnel no.
Lets not let a one in a million or more incident cause general alarm in the community.
I love auto horns or electronic ones over manual ones..but I also have both and have had both for 50+ years with no shrapnel or blowing circuits...along with the hundreds of other boaters I know.
Lets get a grip on what is common...not the extreme.
Lets not let a one in a million or more incident cause general alarm in the community.
I love auto horns or electronic ones over manual ones..but I also have both and have had both for 50+ years with no shrapnel or blowing circuits...along with the hundreds of other boaters I know.
Lets get a grip on what is common...not the extreme.
psneeld
Guru
Murphy is barely a guest on a well maintained and operated vessel...
You probably have a greater chance of dying from a health problems, car accident, meteor strike, lightening hits, etc...etc...than from an exploding air horn can.
You probably have a greater chance of dying from a health problems, car accident, meteor strike, lightening hits, etc...etc...than from an exploding air horn can.
jleonard
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That's why I no longer say "now I've seen everything".
psneeld
Guru
I am sure its possible.... BUT.....
....even with the hundreds of pressurized vessels I have seen or heard of that develop leaks, explosions producing shrapnel to destroy an enclosure....the military could only ask for grenades that reliable...
....even with the hundreds of pressurized vessels I have seen or heard of that develop leaks, explosions producing shrapnel to destroy an enclosure....the military could only ask for grenades that reliable...
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Maybe don't buy the $7 ones at Walmart...………...
----- Im sure the air horn did not deteriorate from rain water - it was under a eave and mounted downward---it deteriorated into a dead short from docking in salt air next to the ocean for 36 years. Similar to past vent hull fittings that had copper screens and the screens welded themselves shut tight over time in salt air.
Alaskan Sea-Duction
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Yep trash the horns and install these....
https://www.airhornsoftexas.com/collections/train-air-horns?gclid=CO7Pmsvu-M8CFUqUfgod63wC_g
https://www.airhornsoftexas.com/collections/train-air-horns?gclid=CO7Pmsvu-M8CFUqUfgod63wC_g
Comodave
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Just because someone has NEVER heard of a pressurized can exploding does not mean it can’t happen. I helped him clean up the metal pieces all over the flybridge and sewed a temporary repair to the bimini top. Apparently the insurance company didn’t have a problem believing it because they paid out $6800 for a new enclosure. BTW, I never said or intimated that you should not use a pressurized can air horn, just periodically check them for rust or deterioration. I also had never heard of one exploding but now I have...
That's what I was doing 'exercising it' It "exercised" all right. LOL
markpierce
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Can't imagine using a canned air horn every two minutes for an extended period. ... Believe in exercising a boat's systems. For instance, if tides don't require a long toot while exiting/entering the marina due to limited visibility over the breakwater, I blow the horn in the strait to hear the echoes.
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High Wire
Guru
Just right for my Chevy Tracker.
O C Diver
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I have a pneumatic air horn driven by a very small scuba tank with a safety burst disk. The tank is inspected annually. The engine gauges and engine are the only things attached to the engine battery system. Everything else is on the house battery bank with its own separate alternator on the engine. Everything is fused properly.
One has to wonder why the horn fuse didn't blow instantly with the dead short. Maybe no fuse or too high an amperage?
Ted
One has to wonder why the horn fuse didn't blow instantly with the dead short. Maybe no fuse or too high an amperage?
Ted
BrianSmith
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Brent Hodges
Senior Member
I had a customer call one day with an odd issue. He says " I need you to come look at my boat. Every time I honk the horn or turn on my running lights it kills both of my engines!"
Being the smartass that I can be sometimes I responded "It's not supposed to do that." There was a stunned silence for a few seconds... Anyhoo, it of course was a corroded ground wire in the er that happened to be feeding the helm electrics and the engine ECM's. Sometimes pushing a button will give you a different reaction than you were expecting!
Being the smartass that I can be sometimes I responded "It's not supposed to do that." There was a stunned silence for a few seconds... Anyhoo, it of course was a corroded ground wire in the er that happened to be feeding the helm electrics and the engine ECM's. Sometimes pushing a button will give you a different reaction than you were expecting!
